


Kicked Out

by Bleck



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Domestic Violence, Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2019-01-23 01:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12495252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bleck/pseuds/Bleck
Summary: Tobias gets kicked out after coming out.





	1. Chapter 1

Jake woke up to the smell of coffee and pancakes. Which had been nice but through the haze of actually waking up, Jake remembered he lived alone and that maybe it was a little weird to smell breakfast being cooked when you weren't the one doing it.

"Who's making breakfast?" Jake asked as he walked down the hall to his kitchen. He figured that some kind of axe murderer wouldn't stop to make breakfast and it was much more likely to be one of his friends.

"Hey, Jake." Tobias said without turning around, flipping a pancake much more neatly than Jake could. "That kettle has boiling water, I figured you'd like some tea. Why exactly do you have everything to make coffee if you don't like it?"

"Everyone else does and the counter looks empty without stuff on it. My mom bought it for me anyway." Jake said, taking out a mug and making himself some tea. Before he could sit down, Tobias had a plate of delicious looking chocolate chip pancakes ready for him. "Thanks. Not to be rude because you just made me breakfast but, uh, why? Also, how? Did I give you a key?"

"Mostly just because." Tobias said, sitting down with his own plate and a cup of coffee. He blushed. "Uh, no. You didn't. Technically I broke in." 

"You did what?" Jake blinked. "Why?"

"Yea, uh, sorry. So, breakfast. I didn't bust your door or anything. I picked the lock." Tobias paused to take a bite of his pancakes. He got up to fill up his mug with coffee and spoon sugar in, continuing his silence. 

As he woke up and could pay more attention to things, Jake could look at Tobias. He moved stiffly and was using his left hand to stir the sugar in. Tobias was right handed. "What happened, Tobias?" Jake asked.

"Uh..." Tobias shuddered. "I got in a fight. With my uncle." 

Jake almost dropped his cup. He knew he was a big guy, something around six feet and over 200 pounds, but he liked to think he was nice. Even gentle. He had only ever seen Tobias' uncle in work boots so he couldn't be sure but Jake thought the man was taller. There were a lot of words to describe Tobias' uncle and none of them were nice. "Are you ok? I mean ok is stupid because you're not but, like, do you need to go to the hospital?"

"Uh, I don't think so. At least I hope not since I don't think I have health insurance." Tobias said.

"What happened?" Jake asked when he realized Tobias wasn't going to elaborate.

"I got back from the bookstore. Like, ok, so last night was rainy and cold when I got out so I had my jacket on so when I put my bike in the garage I was still wearing it. I was hoping since it was past midnight that he'd be asleep when I walked in. But he wasn't." Tobias took another bite of his pancakes. "Basically, I came out. And he wasn't happy."

"I'm so sorry, Tobias." Jake said. Tobias worked second shift at a bookstore so that he could avoid his uncle as much as possible, he was a roofer who worked in the morning. Tobias was also gay and they'd all known for years that he wouldn't be able to come out to his uncle, the jacket was a risk but one Tobias said he wanted to take. It was covered in pride buttons and rainbows and one of Tobias' favorite pieces of clothing. "What can I do to help?" 

"Can I crash here for a bit? I can try and get Cassie to look after Dude for a while if he'll be a problem." Tobias said.

"I'm pretty sure the building is cat friendly. I wouldn't care if it wasn't though. Not that this is good or anything, obviously this totally sucks, but, like, the rent just went up actually. So you can move in. If you want to. At least one of us will know how to cook." 

"Wow, uh, wow. I want to say no but I mean, this is basically my only option. So yea, that would be great. Thank you, Jake." 

"It's really no problem, Tobias. It's not furnished or anything but there's a spare bedroom. We'll have to find a mattress and all that." 

"Jake, that's perfect. Even a couple of blankets would be better than my mattress at his place." 

"When do you want to start moving in?" 

"Well, it's actually only like seven in the morning. And, honestly, I haven't slept since yesterday and i could really use some after I'm done eating. And as soon as possible is gonna be best. My uncle should be at work but i'm kinda freaked out about Dude, I need to make sure he's ok." Tobias said, setting his fork down. "I'm gonna do that now, if that's ok. Take a nap I mean."

"I'll call Rachel and the others, they should be ready before you wake up. That couch can't be comfortable to sleep on, take my bed." Jake said, leading him to his bedroom and ignoring his protests.

"Thank you, Jake. Really." Tobias said, earnestly. He gave Jake a quick hug and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"I'm glad you're finally getting out of there, Tobias." Jake said.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Tobias had been staying at Jake's apartment for three months and had three months of peace. He hadn't spoken to his uncle since the day that he told him he was moving out, something he wouldn't have been forced to do if his uncle wasn't homophobic in the first place but now Tobias had stopped caring what his uncle thought. He was finally safe at Jake's and away from his uncle and his aunt, even though she was on the other coast and he hadn't spoken to her in over a year. But that's when he got the phone call. 

He'd gotten back from work at four, a perk of moving out was that he could work in the day instead since he didn't have to avoid his uncle, and the phone rang almost as soon as he walked in. Tobias didn't like to talk on the phone but Jake wouldn't be back for half an hour so he was forced to stomach his anxiety and pick it up. He really wished he hadn't.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Toby, is that you?" 

He almost hung up the phone. Against his better judgment, he had given Jake's number to his uncle in case there was some kind of emergency. Really, he figured his uncle would throw it away. It's not like they liked each other, it had just seemed like something you were supposed to do.

"Hi, Auntie." Tobias swallowed. He hated that nickname but it would only get him yelled at if he brought it up again and he wanted this over as soon as possible.

"Your oaf of an uncle gave me this number and I wasn't sure if it was going to be yours or not. Steve has a business trip but decided it would be a good idea to have me come with him." His aunt said. 

Tobias was glad that he hadn't had to listen to all the yelling that that would've been.

"I don't know who that is, Auntie." Tobias said, exhausted already. She'd kept him out of school for a week at a time just to clean her house before she threw huge parties for her friends and forced him to clean up after them. And of course he'd been confined to his room during it unless she wanted to show off how great a person she was for taking in a 'special needs child like Toby here'. She meant autistic but it's not like she actually cared. He sighed. She certainly didn't care when she yelled at him for 'being weird' when he flapped his hands or cried over a bad texture or too much noise.

"Right, right. Steve's my boyfriend, much better than the last three had been." She said. 

"Paul was ok. He took Dude to the vet and got him toys and all that." Tobias said. 'He also had enough sense to leave after he figured out who you really were' was what he wanted to say but he knew there wouldn't be a point. Tobias didn't really like Paul as a person but he was good to Dude when he couldn't afford to be.

"Oh no, Toby, Paul was ages ok. You were still in high school when he was around. And anyway, Steve isn't going to decide to leave because he thinks I'm unfair to you. You know how Paul was." 

'A decent enough guy.' Tobias rolled his eyes. 

"Did you want something, Auntie?" He asked, trying not to sound rude even though he wished he could. Tobias really didn't want to actually talk to his aunt, if he could expect one thing it was a guilt trip and he hated it.

"Yes, I did. And I would appreciate it if you would show me some respect after all I've done for you with your...needs." His aunt sneered. 

Tobias rolled his eyes and waited for her to get to the reason she called.

"Anyway," she scoffed. "I'm going to be staying at a hotel in the area and there's obviously no reason I should be forced to take a taxi when my nephew lives in the city."

"I have work. And I can't drive." Tobias said. It was blunt and she'd get upset but he was ready for a nap after this conversation.

"Still? I hoped you'd grow out of it by now." 

"You don't grow out of being autistic." 

"Well anyway, I'm sure one your friends would be able to help their friend's aunt. I'll only be in town for a few days and I'll only need you to take me to my hotel. My flight only gets in at six, I'm sure you can find a ride since you obviously get out of work before six. I'll call you later with more details. I'll see you in a week, Toby." She said and hung up.

"Perfect!" He groaned and hung up the phone. "Who the heck am I going to ask?"

Ax couldn't drive either. Marco could and while the threat of getting into a crash was suddenly much more appealing than normal, it probably wasn't the best idea. Cassie was probably too busy with school and helping her parents out; he knew she would do it if he asked but he didn't want to do it at all, let alone impose as much as he would be doing. Rachel maybe? 

"Yea, right. Then I'd have to explain to her mom why she just got a call that her kid's in jail for murder." Tobias said to himself. He had no doubt that Rachel's threats of violence against his relatives weren't empty, she would absolutely hit his aunt. The temporary satisfaction would be greatly outweighed by the avalanche of consequences though so no, he decided he couldn't ask Rachel. 

Which left Jake.

Tobias groaned again. 

Things weren't bad or awkward between them. They were good friends. Which was the problem. Tobias had been pining after Jake for years with no success. No move at all on his part. He was sure Jake would reject him kindly and they could remain close friends but it's not what he wanted. He wanted a boyfriend. He wanted Jake.

Tobias had only just settled in with his latest book by the time Jake walked in, it'd taken him a few minutes after the phone call with his aunt to stuff his feelings back down and those were more important than kicking his shoes off.

"Hey." Jake said, nodding his chin in Tobias' direction before taking off his shoes.

"I have to ask you for a favor." Tobias said, putting his book down and cutting right to the chase. The less he had to talk about it, the better. 

"Ok." Jake said. Dude came running up to for some head scratches, Jake obliged him.

"My aunt called. She's gonna be in town in a week and wanted me to get her from the airport. She's gonna call later with more details. Would you be willing and/or able to do it for me?" Tobias asked. "I can ask one of the others if you can't, it's no problem."

"Yea, if I'm not working then it shouldn't be a problem." Jake said.

"Unfortunately, it's not. She said her flight gets in at six. I'm not sure what day yet." 

"Ok. Well...no, she does sound that bad." Jake said, remembering some of the more wild things he knew about his friend's aunt. "She just wants a ride from the airport, right?" 

"So far. But there's a good chance she'll ask for more or that the hotel is five hours away or something ridiculous like that." Tobias said. "Ugh, Jake, i'm more irritated than I have been in months. It's 'family' I guess, not like either of them earned the word though." 

"No, they didn't." Jake agreed with a frown. Tobias' aunt and uncle were some of the worst people he knew and he hadn't even met his aunt yet.

Five days passed by in relative normalcy before Tobias' aunt called again. Tobias was in the middle of cooking so Jake was the one to pick up.

"Hello?" Jake asked.

"Who's this?"

"This is Jake. Who's speaking?" 

"Is this one of Tobias' friends? Put him on, tell him it's his aunt." She demanded.

"He's busy. I'll be picking you up from the airport, ma'am, if that's what this is about." Jake said. 

Tobias let the sauce sit and turned around to focus on the conversation.

"Oh, well you should've said that." 

Jake raised his eyebrows.

Tobias shrugged. He couldn't hear what his aunt said but he knew that expression.

Jake hung up as soon as he could. "Wow."

"Yea. Sorry you agreed to drive her yet?" 

"It's certainly going to be a trip." 

"You have no idea." Tobias warned.

The days leading up to his aunt's arrival were basically one long anxiety attack. Tobias had an actual attack that morning and was on the verge of having another one as Jake drove them to the airport. Bouncing his leg helped a little. Maybe.

"She told me it's just going to be to the hotel. An hour at most with traffic. We can manage, Tobias." Jake said as he pulled into the parking lot.

"I hope so." The shorter of the two said. 

They didn't have long to wait, Tobias' aunt zeroed in on Tobias almost as soon as she got off the plane.

"Oh good, there you are. Get my bags, Toby." She demanded. 

"Yes, Auntie." Tobias acquiesced, flinching at the nickname.

Jake frowned. Seeing Tobias with his eyes glued to the floor, talking only when spoken to with as few words as possible, practically curled up on himself, and flinching wouldn't have been uncommon in middle or high school. Jake couldn't blame all of it on his aunt because Tobias got like that in big crowds like an airport to but for the past few months, seeing him like that had been uncommon. Tobias was happy. Jake's frown deepened as his stomach soured, seeing Tobias like this again after seeing him happy was...bad. Jake didn't like it. At all.

"Do you have a girlfriend yet, Toby?" His aunt asked, turning around to look at her nephew carrying her luggage for her.

"No, Auntie." 

"I hope you don't still think you're gay. With all the pretty girls out here, I'm sure one would catch your eye." 

Even people in the crowd stared at her.

Tobias opened his mouth to say something but shut it and took a deep breath through his nose. "I'm still gay." He said with a white knuckled grip on his aunt's suitcase.

"I don't see how." She scoffed. "And I'm sure you're fine with this." 

Jake was mildly surprised she spoke to him so it took him a second to come up with a response. "I'm perfectly fine with it, ma'am." He said, tersely. Jake was glad the car was parked close and he was extra glad she got in while they put her bags in the trunk.

"Holy shit, Tobias." He said, shaking his head.

"Yea, I know. Sorry you have to deal with her." He said, looking apologetic even though the worst of it had been directed at him.

"It's...actually, it is a problem. A big problem. She shouldn't treat you like that." Jake slammed his trunk shut.

"Well it's like you said, we just have until the hotel and hopefully she won't call again." Tobias sighed and ran a hand down his face. He slipped into the passenger's seat and closed the door.

Jake got in and started his car up, he didn't want to leave Tobias' aunt alone with him even if he was ready to scream.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Jake? Maybe you can introduce Tobias to a nice girl." 

An idea came to him and he couldn't stop himself from blurting it out. "Tobias and I are dating, actually." Jake lied. He got quite a bit of satisfaction seeing her sneer from the rear view. 

"Jake!" Tobias hissed, eyes about to bulge out if his head and face as red as a tomato. Even though he was embarrassed and even a little angry, the smile that Jake gave him made his stomach flip and even more flustered. 

"It's ok, Tobias." Jake said. As obviously as he could, he held Tobias' hand and ran his thumb over his knuckles.

It was with a great force of will that Tobias didn't gasp from the contact. He knew Jake was just making his aunt mad, and doing a really good job of it, and as much as Tobias would've melted under better circumstances, he knew this was all fake. On one hand, he wasn't willing to risk his friendship with Jake. On another, he was so shocked by everything that he couldn't speak.

"Unbelievable." Tobias' aunt scowled. "I can't believe this, Toby. I raised you better than this."

The only reason Jake didn't stop the car right then was because there was a guy tailgating him and he wasn't angry enough to not care about that damage. But he was getting really, really close. "I'm glad he's gay but it had nothing to do with how you raised him, if you can call it that." Jake snapped. His parents had taught him to be respectful but Marco's mom taught him to throw that respect out the window of a moving car if someone deserved it and Tobias' aunt absolutely deserved it. "I think you were awful to Tobias and he deserves much better than you or his uncle. I'm taking you to your hotel as a favor for Tobias, my boyfriend, not you. It'd be best when, after we drop you off, you don't call him again."

"How dare you!? Your mother would be ashamed at how disrespectful you are, if she even talks to either of you for being such fags." 

"Nope. No way. You don't get to use that word and you sure as fuck don't get to call me or Tobias it." Jake swore, furious. He'd been planning on stopping for gas but it could wait. This couldn't. "Out. Now."

"Excuse me?" 

"Fuck no." Jake said, getting out and slamming his door. He was so livid he was almost trembling. 

"Wow." Tobias said, staring at him as he closed his door.

"Sorry. I just...I couldn't do nothing. You've been miserable for a week, you were freaked out in the airport, she mistreated you for years and then that? No way. You've been doing so much better since you moved in and I couldn't let her screw with you like that." Jake explained. "And sorry for the fake dating thing. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, it just came out." 

"No, uh, it's fine. Thanks. She's not gonna talk to me for a long time. Hopefully not for another year at least. You didn't make me uncomfortable either." Tobias said with a blush.

"I'm trying to get her bags but I can't get my keys to work." Jake huffed. It was the third time he tried to get his key in but it wasn't working for him.

"I've got it, Jake. Thank you." Tobias said. He took the keys from Jake and couldn't ignore how his hand felt against his own. He opened the trunk and they took out his aunt's bags. Tobias was feeling a lot more relaxed about the whole situation than he thought he would. He was just...done. It felt as good as Jake's hand holding his did.

They took her bags out and Jake opened her door for her. "Here's five bucks for the taxi, that should cover it. The hotel isn't far. Bye." Jake waited only long enough for Tobias to get buckled before he drove out of the parking lot. If his aunt had said something than he hadn't heard her and it was for the best.

"You're much stronger than I am for being able to put up with her for as long as you did, Tobias. I have no idea how you did it." Jake said once they got back home. He'd been too angry to talk on the ride back but sitting on the couch with Tobias seemed to break the spell.

"Differently." Tobias laughed.

Jake looked at him before joining in, releasing the most stressful half hour from his system with manic giggles. "I just, wow. Wow."

"I can't believe you actually did that." Tobias said once he was done laughing. Jake giggled again and Tobias started another round of laughter.

"You're cute." Jake grinned, face flushed from laughter. "I like your laugh."

"Thanks. I like your laugh to." Tobias blushed. "You're really cute to."

"You know what would've really pissed off your aunt?" Jake asked.

"No, what?" Tobias asked.

"If I had kissed you." Jake said.

"Yea." Tobias squeaked.

"Could I?" 

"Could you what?"

"Kiss you? Can I kiss you?" 

"To make my aunt mad?" Tobias frowned. He wanted to kiss Jake a whole heck of a lot but not just to make his aunt mad.

"No." Jake grinned and leaned in. "To kiss you. We're basically already dating. You already moved in."

"Then yea, you can totally kiss me." Tobias grinned back.

Jake cupped the smaller boy's cheek and leaned down. Their lips met. It was soft but not tentative, chaste but not without passion.

"Wow." Tobias breathed. "That was everything I imagined."

"Everything?" Jake asked playfully.

"Well, there's a bit more." Tobias admitted, biting his lip.

"To be bold as hell, I have a bed. We could use it to talk about what you'd imagined. Or not talk. If you want." Jake said, blushing. That was definitely something he was borrowing from Marco.

"Yea, we could do that. Talk. Or not." 

"So much for the fake part." Jake said as he lead Tobias, by the hand, to his bedroom.

"Yea." Tobias said. He kissed Jake's jaw. "We can talk about it later. If you want."

"We can talk later." Jake kissed Tobias on the lips again.

"Yea." Tobias kissed him back.

"Yea." Jake said. He kissed him on the neck.

They stopped talking.

 


	3. Chapter 3

"Morning, Tobias." Jake greeted his maybe boyfriend. They hadn't talked about it yet but they had kissed a lot and had sex. He knew that the two weren't always the same thing but he wasn't one for casual sex and he was sure Tobias wasn't one either.

"No." Tobias said into Jake's pillow.

"No, i'm pretty sure it's morning. The sun's out." Jake smirked.

"'S early, go to bed." Tobias pulled more of the blanket around his shoulder in protest. 

"It's 10 in the morning. Time for breakfast." Jake goaded. "What do you want?"

"Bed."

"Cute. C'mon, I'm hungry and hoping I can make something good for breakfast but I'll probably need your help." Jake kissed the back of Tobias head, they were spooning and it was the only part of him that he could reach.

"In two hours I'll make pancakes." Tobias said, pulling the blanket over his head. "Two hours."

"Dude hasn't eaten since yesterday." Jake reminded him.

"...Shit." Came his muffled reply. "You win, I'm up." Tobias kicked the blanket off and slid out of Jake's bed. "Your bed is really nice." 

"Yea. It's one of the only things I bought when I moved in. Besides the apartment, obviously. So I splurged on it." Jake smiled. 

"What?" Tobias yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He was not a morning person.

"You're really cute is all. Especially with my shirt on." 

"Thanks." Tobias blushed and looked down at himself. The shirt hung off him but it was soft and smelled nice. "This is mine now. Consider it punishment for waking me up so early." 

"It's 10:15, Tobias." Jake quirked his lip.

"Early." Tobias said before he left to go feed Dude.

Jake climbed out of bed a few minutes later and made his way to the kitchen. He was greeted to the sight of a fluffy grey mass bathing in the sun on his kitchen table. "Off." He said in the resigned force of a man telling a cat to do anything it didn't want to.

"Mrrrow." Dude whined.

"Good morning to you to." Jake said and rubbed Dude's stomach a little. He had no idea what kind of cat he was but he was incredibly soft.

"What'd you want for breakfast?" Tobias asked as he walked into the kitchen. "You have water now, Dude."

"We might as well test that waffle maker you bought last week." Jake said.

"Sure." Tobias said, petting Dude's side with one hand and rubbing his knuckle under his chin with the other. Suddenly, he stopped and turned around to face Jake. "We're dating, right? Because I can't really do casual sex and I don't want to make it awkward between us since we live together and I really like you."

"I would like that, Tobias." Jake said. "A lot."

"Ok. Cool. Good." Tobias smiled, immensely relieved.

"Mrrrow." Dude whined. He got up to rub his head against Tobias' hand.

"Yes, you can have some waffle to." 

 


End file.
